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  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Mercury Mine

Past Producer in Saguache county in Colorado, United States with commodities Uranium, Mercury
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10013147
MRDS ID D009287
MAS/MILS ID 81090201
Record type Site
Current site name Mercury Mine
Alternate or previous names Smith Mercury Mine, Cochetopa Creek area
Related records 10216050

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -106.771, 38.30392 (WGS84)
Elevation 2838
Relative position 18.3 MILES S 27 E FROM GUNNISON. Coordinates are for adit symbol at "Mercury Mine" labeled on topo. About 400 m west of Cochetopa Creek.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Saguache(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Sawtooth Mountain(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Saguache(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Montrose(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Tomichi(hydrologic unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic accounting unit)

Gunnison(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management CO)

Bureau of Land Management CO BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Saguache

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 047N 002E 29 NE Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • ON HILLSIDE WEST OF COCHETOPA CREEK ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1976

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary
Mercury Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Cinnabar Ore
Pyrite Gangue

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Rhyodacite
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Oligocene
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Volcanic Rock (Aphanitic) > Felsic Volcanic Rock > Quartz Latite
    Rock unit name Early Intermediate-Composition Flows And Breccias
    Rock description Early Intermediate-Composition Flows And Breccias
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Siltstone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Morrison Formation
    Rock description Morrison Formation

Nearby scientific data

(1) -106.771, 38.30392
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Cochetopa Dome; Los Ochos Fault; Razor Creek Dome; Unnamed Fault
Type of structure Regional
Structure description San Juan Volcanic Field; Gunnison Uplift

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Silicification, Fracturing, Brecciation Of Sedimentary Rocks Along Los Ochos And Related Faults

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Surface-Underground
Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No

Mining district

District name Cochetopa (Cochetopa Creek) District

Land status

Ownership category BLM Administrative Area

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Coltex Mining Co.
    First year 1962

Comments on the workings information

  • TRENCHES 90 TO 110 FT LONG AND 8 TO 12 FT DEEP. 100-FT SHAFT WITH 45-FT DRIFT FROM BOTTOM. Vaderwilt, p. 222, says "Development is by trenches, cuts, and a shaft 72 feet deep. Cinnabar in place is said to have been cut in the shaft at 60 feet."

Comments on development

  • DISTRICT MINED PREVIOUSLY FOR AU AND BASE METALS. GUNNISON MINING CO. DISCOVERED URANIUM IN 1954 ALONG LOS OCHOS FAULT. MERCURY WAS PROSPECTED FOR IN 1937

Reference information

Bibliographic references

Comments on the references

  • Only reference for deleted Cochetopa Creek record 10240208 (0081090055) was "CRIB-USGS PRELIMINARY MAP 3-189." Unable to locate this map source.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit PRINCIPAL FAULT ZONE TRENDS N 75 TO 80 W. CINNABAR REPORTEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH PYRITE AND VEIN QUARTZ IN BRECCIA IN QUARTZITE OR SILICIFIED PORPHYRY (from Vanderwilt, p. 222)

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1982-06-01 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey
Editor 2012-09-17 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted duplicate records
Reporter 1983-11-17 Intermountain Field Operations Center (IFOC) U.S. Bureau of Mines 0081090201 = 10143179 and 0081090055 = 10240208

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

External references

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Colorado resources

These are landing pages for further research — the state agencies don't currently expose per-mine deep links.